Faith in Darkness
by Rocker-Starlight
Summary: The road of those connected to Digimon can often lead to many things. So when a new girl in his school catches his eyes, just how will Kouichi deal with it AND her?
1. Crossroads

"We're here. You know, once I leave, you won't have a way to get a hold of me. Are you sure about this?"

The girl turned back to the boy, watching as his brown hair was blown a little from the wind. "It's fine Ryo. You should go back before Ruki thinks you've disappeared again."

Grinning, Ryo shook his head. "Nah, I bet she's telling everyone how happy she is with me gone."

Watching him blankly, the girl turned away. She walked up to the edge of the roof, looking over as she smoothed out the black dress she was wearing. Feeling the wind blowing by on the cloudless night, she looked over the sleeping city, realizing this would be the place she would be calling home now.

"Look… Are you sure about this? Wouldn't it be better to stay back home?"

Looking back, she watched the nervous look on Ryo's face. It seemed a little weird on the normally overconfident boy. "I'll be fine. This is the place you spoke of then?" She watched the fast nod before she continued. "And they will give me a place to live? Then I will be fine."

Nodding slowly, Ryo watched as she started to walk towards the steps leading into the building. "Listen… I'm sorry about your part…"

"Goodbye, Ryo." She didn't turn back, cutting him off before she slipped into the building.

------------------------------

Faith in Darkness

Entry 1 "Crossroads"

Written by Rocker Starlight

A/N This story is dedicated to Lady Iapetus, who's story inspired this idea, as well as being the only female of the Diaries group. The fact that she can deal with us is something to be admired. Iap, consider this story your V-day present, if quite a bit late. Heh

------------------------------

"Hey Kouichi!"

Turning from his locker, Kouichi Kimura watched as Takuya slipped through the crowd. Tucking his English book under his arm, he shut the metal door and waited.

"Dang it… I hate crowds sometimes…" Takuya muttered softly to himself. "Hey, do you have the history assignment from yesterday?"

"Did you fall asleep again, Takuya?" Watching the former Warrior of Fire laugh sheepishly, Kouichi sighed. "Alright… I'll get it to you during lunch, alright?"

Grinning, the wild haired goggle boy nodded. "Roger! I'll be there, buuuddy!"

Rolling his eyes, Kouichi walked alongside Takuya as they slipped back into the crowd. He listened as Takuya started explaining why he had fallen asleep, although he didn't really pay attention much. Knowing the brown haired teen, he would use some special excuse, when he simply didn't enjoy paying attention to the teachers.

"Hey, come on. What's the problem?" A rough voice seemed to ring out over the crowd.

Stopping at the voice, Kouichi turned towards the source, obviously a member of the kendo club since he wore the symbol for them on the school bag over his shoulder. He stood to the side of the side of the crowd, leaning over something, dressed in the schools uniform and his hands both against the wall.

"Looks like Tachi is at it again." Kouichi turned as he noticed Takuya had stopped next to him. "Probably hitting on another girl…"

Frowning, the blue haired teen stepped closer to the taller boy. "Excuse me."

The taller student turned his body partially, giving an annoyed look. "Hey, buzz off. This doesn't concern you."

"Oh, but it does!" Takuya spoke up, stepping from behind Kouichi's back and into the kendo member's vision. "See, you're being an eyesore. So, we thought maybe you should leave her alone and just head to class. I mean, Mrs. Urashima would just love to hear that you were at it again, wouldn't she?"

Turning to face the pair, Tachi opened his mouth to say something right as the last sentence came from Takuya's mouth. His eyes widened a moment, before he gave a simple glare, walking off swiftly.

"Mrs. Urashima?" Kouichi asked the brown haired teen.

"Yea. I heard he got in some shit with her, when she caught him hitting on a student at the start of her class. Never heard what she did, but apparently it wasn't nice."

Blinking, Kouichi simply nodded to the explanation. Turning back, he saw a girl with blonde hair, pulled into two pigtails with ribbons reaching from them. Wearing a black dress with small white trim around the shoulders and edge of the bottom, she stood tall against the wall, watching the pair impassively as she held her books to her chest.

"Um… Are you alright?" Kouichi finally managed to ask.

The girl stared at them for a moment, her ice blue eyes shifting from one to the other before she nodded. Not giving them a moment to say anything further, she turned away, walking off into the crowd.

The two boys watched as she disappeared, before giving each other a confused look. Just as Kouichi opened his mouth to speak, the bell rang out, causing the pair to panic as they raced to avoid being counted late.

---------------

"…And she just walked off without a word." Takuya sputtered out around the sandwich he was eating. Sitting around the round table, Takuya had explained the small incident in the hallway to the other three former Legendary Warriors, not bothering to hold off his lunch for it.

"Takuya! For the last time, don't stuff your face and talk! That's disgusting!" Izumi scowled at the boy, taking a small bite of her own sandwich.

Ignoring the start of a possible argument, Kouji gave a tug on his bandana and turned to his twin. "So then, who was she?"

"I don't know…" Kouichi took a drink from his water. "She didn't even seem to care. She just walked away. It was like Takuya and I didn't matter anymore then Tachi did."

"Well, maybe she likes the pushy kind?" Junpei offered before he ate a few of his fries. "I mean, most girls have different things they like. Some even like those tentacle hentai and picture it happ…OW!!"

Junpei rubbed his head, looking up at Izumi with an enraged look on her face and her food tray in her hand. Sniffing loudly, the blond girl dropped the tray and stomped off, leaving the boys staring in confusion.

"And we learn yet again, Junpei has the foot in mouth disease." Kouji joked, patting the larger boy on the shoulder.

"Hey, it's not my fault! She's been like that for like for a couple weeks now whenever I mention hen…Ouch!" Junpei rubbed the back of his head from the rock that struck him, as everyone looked to see Izumi stomping off even faster then before.

Takuya slipped over, patting Junpei's other shoulder. "Junpei, the mysteries of women are not for us to understand. So it's best not to worry about it!" Grinning, Takuya quickly snagged Junpei's sandwich, taking off with the larger boy after him.

The twins laughed as they watched the former warriors of Fire and Thunder fight over the sandwich, although Takuya taking large bites as he ran didn't bode well for Junpei retrieving the food.

Kouichi stopped watching the scene his friend's were creating as a hand on his arm drew his attention. He turned, noticing Kouji was looking off towards the back of the school and tried to find what his brother was looking at. He blinked in surprise as the girl in black sat at a table far away from everyone else, slowly eating her food.

"That's her?" Kouji asked, glancing over as his surprised twin nodded. "Her name's Alice. She transferred into my class a couple weeks ago. Surprised the teacher a bit."

Kouichi blinked as he looked at his brother. "She's in your class? So she's the one you mentioned yesterday?"

"Yep. That's the girl who completely ignored the teacher for half an hour. She didn't get in trouble though, when she answered everything the teacher had been showing us. You should have seen Mr. Fujisaki's face though, he was in shock!"

Kouichi laughed a little with his brother, still watching the girl. Without warning, she turned her head, looking back at him eye to eye for a moment. Kouichi quickly turned away, resuming eating as his twin followed suit.

'Her name's Alice. I wonder why she acts that way though.' Kouichi thought to himself, risking another glance. The girl had returned to eating, almost seeming to have a neutral attitude about the food even. He turned back to his food before she caught him looking again.

---------------

Classes passed uneventfully for the rest of the day. Kouichi watched as Izumi and Junpei walked towards the bus stop they both took to their homes, leaving Takuya walking with Kouji and himself to the train station. The trio quickly packed up their books, listening to Takuya's latest story from his classes as they began walking down the street.

"So then, the teacher started screaming! I mean, you would think she never noticed me sleeping in class before!" Takuya grinned in that confident smile as they walked down the street. "So now, I need to have a 'talk' with her and my parents about my studies. My mom's going to go nuts!"

"Well, it's not like you would amount to anything, so why should she worry, right?" Kouji teased.

"Exactly! Hey, wait a…!"

Kouichi smiled as he watched the pair start up, well used to the small insult fests that the former leader and his brother would get into. Moving ahead, he continued down the road until he arrived at the train station well ahead of the pair he had left behind.

Buying the three tickets, Kouichi relaxed against one of the walls, waiting patiently. He watched the crowd slip by, idly remembering when he had followed Kouji through the bus stations of Sabuya before having his spirit brought into the Digital World.

Shaking off the thoughts, before he trailed back into some of the more painful ones that came with thinking about the Digital World, Kouichi looked around, trying to find his brother and their friend. "I hope they didn't stop this time… I don't want mom to worry about me again…"

A flash of blond in the crowd caught his attention, distracting his search. Looking closer, he watched as Alice walked up to one of the ticket dispensers and bought herself a ticket. She moved through the crowd again, not even seeming to notice the people as she moved to a bench and took a seat by herself.

'Wish I could ignore the crowd that well.' The former Warrior of Darkness thought as he watched her pull a book from her book bag and start reading. She barely moved, simply turning the pages and acting as if she were the only person in the terminal.

Kouichi watched her quietly, forgetting about looking for his brother and friend for the moment. All he could seem to think about was the look in her eyes after Tachi had walked away. 'It was cold… Not like she directed it at Takuya or me, but like… Like she didn't care at all….' He thought to himself, grimacing about it.

Shaking his thoughts clear again, the blue haired teen picked up his school bag and slipped it over his shoulder. Making his way through the crowd, although it turned into pushing his way through, he finally stepped next to the bench with the girl. She still hadn't moved, flipping a page, as she remained oblivious.

"Pardon me…" Kouichi almost regretted speaking up, watching her impassive gaze look at him out of the corner of her eyes. Keeping his hands from fidgeting nervously, he watched as she marked her place with another ribbon, black like the ones in her hair, and turned her face to him directly.

'Well… Don't just stand there like an idiot, Kouichi Kimura, say something!' Staring at her for a moment, the teen finally swallowed deeply, mustering something of the courage Takuya never seemed to run out of and opened his mouth. "My name… It's Kouichi Kimura."

The girl simply stared at the boy as he stumbled over his words, the blank expression making him even more nervous. 'Great, now she probably thinks I'm nosey AND an idiot…' He thought as he waited for some form of a reaction.

As the call for one of the stations came over the intercom, the girl finally stood up, turning her eyes away as she slipped her book back into her bag. Just as she moved to turn away, she looked back for a moment, making the boy freeze up as he expected the worst.

"I'm Alice. Thank you for earlier." Her voice was soft, just as emotionless as her actions. With the sentence done, she turned and walked away. Kouichi could see through a window as she took a seat near the back of the cab, no one sitting near her as the train finally started up again and left.

"As if you could do it! I'd like to see ya try, buddy!" Kouichi turned to see Takuya and Kouji finally pushing there way past the crowd to him.

"Sorry we're late, bro. Goggle head here decided he wanted to shoot his mouth for awhile." Kouji stepped up next to his brother, smiling apologetically.

"Yea yea, just because you can't handle it." Takuya grinned, plopping down onto the bench. "We made it in time, didn't we? Not like we missed it this time."

"Only because you don't want to hear your mom complain about you being home for dinner." Kouji laughed as Takuya pulled his hat out of bag, putting it on and adjusting it with his goggles. Looked at his twin, he noticed Kouichi staring off after the train, ignoring the two of them. "Hey, Earth to Kouichi. You going back to the Digital World without us or something?"

Kouichi blinked as he realizes Kouji was talking to him, her cheeks gaining a slight flush. "Sorry, I was just distracted. Here, I got tickets already."

The pair took their tickets, although Kouji watched his brother still as he went back to watching after the last train again. "You sure everything's ok? You seem a little spacey right now."

Nodding, Kouichi took a seat on the bench with Takuya, the pair making room as Kouji joined them. "It's nothing… Just a little tired I guess…" He said softly.

Twenty minutes of silence passed as the trio waited for their train. When it finally arrived, they slipped on with everyone else, quickly finding some free seats and taking them before others in the crowd did. As Takuya began humming to himself, Kouji watched his brother closely, still a little worried.

"Kouji." The bandana-wearing boy looked up to his brother as he spoke. "Did they say anything about Alice when she moved here?"

"Alice? No, not really. They just said she's a transfer student from the Kyoto district. Since she never talks to anyone, no one knows anything about her. Why do you ask?"

Kouichi listened, nodding. "No reason. I was just thinking about the way she acts."

"What, you mean the dead look she always has?" Takuya added, leaning against the window with his hands behind his head.

Shaking his head, Kouichi's expression got a little more serious. "Kind of. Just the way that she acts like no one around her matters. After Tachi left, she didn't even seem to care less about it. When she was waiting for her bus, she didn't even seem to realize anyone else was in the station until I said something."

"Wait, you mean you saw her?" Kouji asked, a bit surprised. "But she's been here for two weeks, why haven't we noticed her before?"

"Maybe she doesn't want to be noticed. The way she acts, she could very easily blend in with people."

"Yea, aside from the pale skin and black clothes. She looks like one of those vampire fans I saw once at an anime convention my parents took me to. Tens bucks says if she wore make-up, it'd be black too." Takuya added in.

"Maybe… It doesn't matter anyway, I was just curious." Kouichi quickly said, ending the conversation quickly. The rest of the ride went by quietly, Kouichi still wondering about the mysterious girl well past when he got home.

---------------

"Hey, have you guys seen the new karaoke club that opened down the street from the Tokyo Bay mall? Izumi said, her voice sounding rather excited.

Most of the group groaned at the suggestion as they walked down the park path. It had been two weeks since Kouichi's odd meetings with the blonde girl, and he hadn't spoken with her since. Although now that he was looking, he had been surprised to find her in his P.E. and Math classes. It surprised him slightly that he had never noticed her in his classes before this.

"Aww, come on guys! I think it would be fun! Better then playing laser tag again." Izumi pouted at the five boys as she walked ahead of them, still facing the group.

"You're just saying that because you always lose." Tomoki grinned up at Junpei, who returned the cheesy grin.

Kouichi watched as Izumi started to respond to the teasing rather loudly. As the group stopped, he looked to the pond near by and slipped away. Taking a seat on the bench over looking it, the blue haired teen watched the water for a few minutes, enjoying the tranquility of the water's surface.

"You look like an old man, bro." Kouichi looked up as his brother, dressed in his favorite blue attire, jumped over the bench's back, slipping his hands into his pockets as he settled in. "You've got that 'I have so much on my mind, I just wanna stare' look on your face. You still wondering about her?"

Kouichi nodded to his twin as he leaned back against the back of the bench. "A little… It just seems kind of sad, you know? She never seems to hang out with anyone, she's not involved in anything. No one even seems to notice her really."

"Well you said so yourself, maybe she doesn't want to be noticed? And besides, someone has been noticing her…" Kouji grinned as his brother's cheeks flushed slightly.

"You don't need to say it like that. I'm just concerned, that's all. You make it sound like I've got a crush on her or something."

"You tell me bro." Kouichi frowned as he noticed the look in his brother's eyes, like he knew something he wasn't sharing.

Standing up, Kouichi tried to ignore the blush on his face as he looked over the water. "Well I'm telling you. It's nothing more then concern. Alright?" He looked back at his brother as he finished speaking.

"You say so." Kouji's grin never left his face as he stood up, standing with his twin overlooking the surface of the pond.

"Hey, you guys just gonna stare all day?" Takuya's voice cut through the silence. The siblings turned, noticing everyone was watching them quietly.

"We just might. Wanna go ahead?" Kouji asked, ignoring the surprised face on his brother's face.

Takuya blinked for a moment, looking between the other teens standing with him before he shrugged. "Yea sure. Better hurry though, so Junpei might eat your food!"

The brothers laughed as Takuya took off with Junpei in tow, followed by Tomoki and Izumi. Kouichi looked to his brother, not feeling very confident as he noticed that grin still on his face.

"So Kouji… Where are we going?"

Turning to his brother for a moment, Kouji simply shrugged and started walking. Without any other options, Kouichi followed feeling a little more confused as they walked down a different path.

They walked out of the park, moving into the bustling mid-day streets. Kouichi looked around, recognizing the area they were in, but he couldn't think of anything that Kouji could want to show him here. Giving up on trying to figure it out, the blue haired teen simply watched the crowds walking around him.

"We're here."

Kouichi almost bumped into his brother as he stopped. Following his twins gaze up at the tall building, he recognized the church standing before them, a cross standing out tall on the steeple. As he started to wonder what his brother was bringing him to the building for, he watched the bandana wearing teen slip past the front doors, quickly following.

The interior was simple compared to some of the churches Kouichi had seen with his mother years ago. The door lead to a small hallway going left and right, with doors on the ends as well as right before him. Following Kouji through the door ahead, he looked down the two rows of pews, one on each side, ending before the pulpit, with a large cross standing behind it. Along all the walls were glass windows depicting things he could only guess were biblical.

Kouji walked to the front pews, slipping into one and taking a seat. Kouichi watched his brother curiously as he took a seat next to him, feeling a little more nervous about being in the church while it was empty then Kouji seemed to be.

"May I help you, my children?" An elderly man stepped out from a door behind the pulpit dressed in the robes of a priest. His hair was a chestnut brown, reaching a little past his shoulders and simply combed out. The thing that surprised Kouichi the most was that he appeared to be American, despite how well he spoke Japanese.

"Hope were not intruding, Father. My brother and I have been looking for some answers lately, and I thought this might be a good place to look for some." Kouji sat up straight, pulling his hands from his pockets as the priest walked down, pulling a chair up as he took a seat before them.

"Well, perhaps you would like to use the confessional? It can often help one find answers, if not at least allowing you to purge any troubling thoughts you may be having."

Kouichi stiffened a little, relaxing as his brother spoke up first. "No thanks. Actually, what we are looking for answers about is a person. A girl at our school who seems to be having troubles adjusting to having moved here."

The priest's face shifted from the kindly smile to a more neutral one, looking as if he were watching the both of them a little more closely now. "Why would you seek answers about a specific person here? After all, this is a house of God. Perhaps you would be better speaking to this young woman herself?"

"That's the thing, she never speaks to anyone. She simply goes to classes, never talking to anything unless the teacher calls on her. Since she wore a cross around her neck, I thought that you might be able to help us out, you know?" Kouji's smiled relaxed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"I still do not see why you would come here though. If she does not speak, it perhaps means she isn't trusting of the people she is around? But if you would permit me to ask, why would this trouble you? If she is as unsociable as you say, surely she has not caused a problem then."

"Actually, she hasn't. To be honest, my brother is the one worried about her." Kouichi's eyes went wide as he listened to his brother, he cheeks starting to blush again a little. "He helped her out from a bully around the school, and spoke with her later that day. Ever since, he seems to be unable to concentrate on things because of his concern."

The priest's gaze moved to Kouichi, watching him a moment before he spoke. "She spoke with you? Surely, if she has talked to you, then you have no reason to worry, do you not?"

"It's not that." Kouichi said quickly. "It's… Well, she just seems lonely. It's as if she doesn't care about anything. I honestly don't know why my brother brought me here to ask about this, but if you have an opinion that may help us to help her, it would be appreciated. Uh…Father." He added the title quickly, bowing his head as he finished.

The older man sat back in his chair, watching the pair again as they sat in silence. Kouichi shifted nervously, wondering why he seemed so serious about this, before the noise of a door opening caught his attention. He looked up to a door opposite the one the priest had walked out of, a look of surprise as Alice walked out with a thin metal stick in her hand, the end splitting into a candle snuffer and a wick lit on the end of the other.

"We aren't here to cause trouble, Father." Kouji said, watching his brother who was watching the girl in the black dress lighting the candles along the back of the church. "But my brother isn't one to simply worry for no reason. If we can, we would like to help."

The priest frowned slightly as he noticed the boy watching Alice, turning back to Kouji. "I might believe you, but the fact of you appearing here and asking does make it sound a little suspicious."

Kouji smiled gently as he rubbed his hair through the bandana. "That would be my fault. I decided to see where she lived, after Kouichi said he saw Alice at the train station we go to after school. With how much he was worrying, I thought maybe we should talk to her parents or something."

The grown man nodded as he listened. "Well, what do you intend to do then, now that you are here?"

Kouichi didn't even notice the conversation as he watched the girl. She didn't even seem to notice the talking, going about lighting the candles one at a time without a single pause. Finally, as she turned from the back wall she looked straight at the blue haired boy, her ice blue eyes staring again. He simply looked back, before his embarrassment for staring made him look away, hearing the priest's question.

"We would like to help." Kouichi answered before his brother could, looking back to the priest. "I know you may not trust us, but we aren't here to do any harm."

"Then you're willing to take responsibility for your actions and their consequences?" The older man asked.

Kouichi nodded immediately. "Of course."

The priest nodded, looking back to Alice. "Alice, would you please go begin dinner? I think Ms. Jan would appreciate the help."

Kouichi watched Alice turn to the priest, nod and walk back through the door she entered, never giving a look back.

The priest mumbled to himself as the brothers sat quietly. "You two wish to help her? How?"

Kouichi blinked, looking to his brother and almost sighing as he realized Kouji was waiting for him to answer. "Well… We would like to try and be friends with her. That way, she can try and enjoy living here, instead of simply being here."

Listening to the answer, the older man cupped his chin as he listened. After a few minutes of silence he stood up. "Alright. We'll make a compromise. Ask your parents to come by for dinner this Friday night. I'll speak with them and we will see what happens. Do you have other friends you commonly hang out with?"

Kouichi nodded as he stood up as well followed by his brother. "Y…yes. We have a few friends we spend most of our time with, why?"

"Ask them to come with their parents then. I want to be sure of your intentions before I allow her to hang around you. I apologize if I am offending, but I am her guardian, and I prefer she does not get involved in any bad crowds."

"Oh, it's alright." Kouji smiled and nodded in agreement with his brother. "We understand. We'll let them know and have everyone who can come be here Friday then. Does six in the evening sound all right?"

"Six it is. Now, I have dinner to go eat, so if you will excuse me, my sons." Bowing to the pair, the priest turned and walked through the door Alice had used, shutting it firmly behind him.

Kouichi watched the priest leave, before turning to his brother. "You followed her here, then brought me without asking?" He asked, still a little shocked with the new knowledge.

"Hey, it all worked out. Since all you were doing was half moping and day dreaming, I thought I would try and help out."

Sighing, Kouichi stepped away from the pew, walking alongside his brother as they exited the church. "Next time, you could mention it…"

"What fun is that?" Kouji smirked at his twin. "The look on your face when she came out was worth it alone. Besides, now you can try and get to know her, right?"

"Maybe…" Kouichi watched ground as they walked, already worrying over the dinner that was they would be attending in a few days. "I hope she doesn't think we are trying to interfere…"

"Yea, whatever. Now come on, I don't want Junpei OR Takuya eating my share of the pizza. You?" Kouji took off into the crowd, barely giving his brother a chance before he started running to keep up.

------------------------------

Rocker - "That was interesting…"

Flora - "I thought it was cute."

Rocker - "You would, this was mainly your idea… Even if you didn't help at all besides the general thoughts about it."

Flora blushes faintly.

Witchie - "Hehe, anyway. Next time, the families meet, and people start learning just how much of the parent's personality is passed on to their children. Come and check it out next time!"


	2. Meeting the Folks

Standing out side the church, Kouichi Kimura tugged on the collar of his shirt nervously. With a nice dress shirt and pants on, he felt very over dressed for the dinner that he had been waiting a week to have.

"So, this is it, Kouichi?" Tomoko Kimura stood next to her son, wearing a nice black dress and matching jacket. She pulled on her blue hair, making sure the ponytail was still in place, as she looked from the church to her son.

"Yea… Thank again for getting the night off, Mom." Kouichi smiled at his mother, forgetting his nervousness for the moment. "I know a week isn't exactly good notice to make sure both jobs don't call you in."

Smiling at her son, Tomoko shook her head slightly. "It's alright. You come first, you know that." She adjusted her purse strap a little for the fifth time since arriving in front of the church, looking up at the cross at it's top.

"I'm sorry mom…" Kouichi looked at his mother, recognizing her nervous habit of adjusting things. "This will be your first time actually being around dad, won't it?"

Looking at her son, Ms. Kimura blushed faintly. She was a little embarrassed her son had noticed the tension she was feeling so easily. "Is it that obvious?"

Patting her arm, Kouichi gave his mother a soft smile. "I know what you mean. How about, if we both try and get over how we are feeling, we'll treat ourselves to some ice cream tomorrow after you get out of work?"

Tomoko laughed softly as her son used the trick she had always used on him as a young child, when she needed him to do something he wasn't enthusiastic about. Taking her son's hand, she nodded. "Alright. But no ice cream flinging like when you were seven, alright?"

Kouichi blushed from the memory of the ice cream fight he had caused when he was young, nodding quickly in agreement. "Deal. Well… Shall we?" He motioned towards the door.

Biting her lip a moment, the twin's mother finally nodded, walking with her son into the church.

------------------------------

Faith in Darkness

Chapter 2 "Meeting the folks"

Written by Rocker Starlight

A/N - This is the second chapter of the present fic for Lady Iapetus, so I hope everyone enjoys this. While I think some of the parent's may have been given names, I wasn't able to find more then a few, so I had to pick out the rest. I'm not going to worry about explaining who until the end of the chapter, so if I named someone incorrectly, blame the lack of info about the parents on the net.

------------------------------

Shiro Jan's life as a priest had helped him be ready for many things. Living with his sister, Rei, soon after high school, he had rarely run into anything that could overwhelm him. Even raising his adopted daughter had not been as difficult as most would think, since she had always been a model child.

However, nothing in his life had prepared him for the dinner he had made plans for. The number of people was not so troublesome, an even dozen total counting his sibling and himself. However, the people themselves were not exactly what he had expected at all.

Sitting on the couch, Yuriko Kanbara sat with her husband, Hiroaki, carrying on a conversation with Kousei and Satomi Minamoto. Both pairs of parents were dressed up for the evening, obviously having met before from the way they were talking. Shiro thought he overheard Yuriko mention something about her son Takuya and a meeting she had gone to with one of his teachers, but he stopped listening before he heard more.

From the kitchen, Nariko Shibayama was helping his sister with the dinner. He had been quite surprised when he found out the boy's --Junpei he thought his name was-- parents were the owners of one of the more popular restaurants in the area, as well as a candy story nearby. Toshi, the large man who was Nariko's husband, carried out a tray of food to the table it was being placed on. It was obvious all three members of the family were used to eating well, from the plump, but well built, build they all had.

Satu and Aiko Himi stood in a corner, holding one another's hand as they spoke quietly to one another. The pair seemed quite infatuated with one another, even after the years they had been married, but had the taste to simply be cute without going overboard.

"No, I did not agree to that!" Wrinkling his nose, Shiro watched as Sakura Orimoto talked on her cell phone. The young woman had been talking to someone from her work since she had arrived, wearing a business suit as opposed to a dress like the other women had. He certainly hoped some of her traits did not pass on to her daughter.

"Shiro, will you come help me?" Turning to the voice, the priest walked into the kitchen at Rei's call. He watched as she and Mrs. Shibayama finished up the last of the food, while Alice put together her own tray of food and left the kitchen.

"The children will be eating downstairs then?" Shiro asked as she handed him a tray.

Rei smiled at her brother, helping to arrange the last tray with Nariko. "That's right. They'll try and get her to come out a little, while we all talk up here."

Shiro frowned as he was ushered out, following his sister as the last two trays were put down. "But is it alright to leave them alone with her? What if they are some hooligans or something?"

"Shiro…" Ms. Jan placed her hand on her brother's shoulder. "I met everyone as they came in, she'll be fine. Now, have Ms. Kimura and her son arrived yet?"

As if on cue, a knock came from the door. Rei pulled away from Shiro, smiling sweetly as she answered the door. "Ahh, perfect timing. Dinner just finished. Please, come right in."

She moved to the side, letting Ms. Kimura and her son to walk in. The older woman adjusted her hair again slightly as she looked around the room, simply standing inside the room as she nervously noticed the other parents.

"Kouichi, Alice is sitting up dinner with your friends downstairs. Could you help them?'" The young boy smiled, moving towards the staircase as Rei turned to the older woman, noticing the way she was fidgeting with a button on her jacket nervously. "Mrs. Kimura, then? My name is Rei Jan, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure. And please, call me Tomoko." The blue haired woman smiled softly, her face still showing her nervousness, despite her attempt to hide it. "Do you need help with anything?"

"As a matter of fact, everything is ready. We can simply sit down to eat. I'll take your jacket, and we'll get right into things." Ms. Jan smiled, moving to take Tomoko's jacket and leading her into the room.

---------------

The dinner went slowly, everyone enjoying and complimenting Ms. Jan's meal as they ate. As the main course of the meal was enjoyed, the conversations finally began to stir once again.

"So, you own the delicatessen over on Seto and Kenshin?" Shiro asked.

Nariko grinned as she nodded. "Oh yes. We act as a restaurant with a very broad range. Anything from traditional meals, to foreign ones like pizza or hamburgers. If you would both like to come down sometime, Toshi and I would love to have you."

Shiro smiled and nodded to the woman, taking another bite out of his riceball. "Perhaps we will. If we could, I would like to get down to the reason we asked you all to dinner this evening."

"You want to make sure your girl doesn't get in trouble with ours, right?" Sakura asked, brushing a lock of brown hair from her eyes as she watched the priest.

The preacher blinked in surprise as he nodded. "Actually, yes… But how did you…?"

Mrs. Orimoto grinned a bit more, picking up a piece of celery in her fingers and nibbling it. "I'm good at judging people. A handy trait when you work in the business field."

Shiro frowned slightly, taking another bite of his rice before he continued. "Well, be that as it may… That IS what I wish to speak with you all about."

"But why speak with us?" Kousei Minamoto looked over to the priest curiously. "I mean, the children can speak for themselves. Kouji's been doing it for quite awhile, trust me."

"Shiro was a little off guard with young Kouji and Kouichi both showed up in the church, asking about Alice. Since he's protective of her, he thought it best to speak with the parents, you see." Rei answered simply.

Tomoko blinked for a moment as she heard the explanation. "Why would they come to you? Why wouldn't they just speak with her themselves?"

"Alice… Well, she's a special case of ours at times." Shiro said with a sigh. "During the entire time she's been with us, she's done little more then go to school or help around the house and church. While we do worry about her being like this, she never expresses an interest in anything."

"Maybe she needs a shrink?" Hiroaki Kanbara blurted out, receiving a swat on his arm from his wife.

Yuriko glared at her husband softly. "While my husband has trouble with his choice of words… Perhaps a psychologist could help her?" She asked, turning towards the priest and his wife.

Rei gave a soft sigh, setting her chopsticks down. "We took her to a counselor once. He said she gave him almost nothing to work with. She's a total introvert, ignoring almost anything outside of herself, to keep from dealing with it."

Tomoko took a sip of her water, thinking for a minute before she spoke. "Maybe something happened to her before you took her in? Did the adoption agency say anything about her past?'

"That's part of the problem, she doesn't seem to have one…" Shiro said softly, bringing a surprise look from most of the table. "She arrived on her doorstep, simply asking for room and board. At first, we didn't think much of it, assuming she was a run away or something, and waiting to hear from her parents or for her to tell us something."

"But that never happened. Finally, we looked up her name to see if we could find her family and find out what happened, but there wasn't a listing remotely near this district with the last name McCoy. We called the closest one, but they said they had never heard the name Alice before, ever." Rei finished for her brother, resting her hands in her lap.

"How awful…" Aiko Himi spoke up. "Her family must be worried sick, wherever they are."

Satu nodded in agreement with his wife. "Have you tried speaking with the police, perhaps?"

"We tried that…" Shiro shrugged helplessly. "All it resulted in was another dead end. For all effects, she seemed to simply appear from nowhere. Rei and I have been thanking God that she wasn't harmed before she found our church."

"Although I wish she wanted something more in her clothing…" Rei commented wistfully. "All her clothing is as black as the dress she came here with. Aside from the small cross around her neck and her hair, she's almost covered in it daily."

Sakura grinned slightly. "Time around Izumi will change that. She's got my taste for clothes and shopping. If they do hang out, trust me. She'll have new clothing within one to two weeks."

Everyone at the table laughed some, relaxing the mood a bit. Shiro looked around the assembled parents as he spoke. "Back to the topic… Could I ask that you all tell me a little about your children?"

"Takuya's a good boy." Yuriko smiled. "He could use better habits with school, and towards his little brother sometimes, but his heart is in the right place."

"And he never hesitates to dive into things sometimes, even if he hits it head first." Hiroaki added, sharing a small laugh as his wife nodded in agreement.

"Our son is very well mannered." Satu looked up from his meal with a grin as he spoke. "It's not many parents who can say their child began looking out a bit for themselves so young. But Tomoki has grown quite a bit since being around his friends."

Aiko nodded with a sad smile on her face. "I do miss the little boy who enjoyed his parent's babying him though, sometimes…"

Toshi laughed softly. "Trust me, if you have another, the feeling will probably pass. I mean, Junpei's always been a handful. But raising a son while trying to run a successful restaurant isn't easy. And with how hard he tried to get our attention, it just made things worse sometimes."

Nariko nodded in agreement. "Toshi is right, but he has grown out of that. Now, we rarely see him, since he's always heading out with his friends now."

"Izumi's kind of the same way." Sakura added, waving her piece of celery around a little as she spoke. "She's always had a temper and everything, and moving around just made it harder on her sometimes. But since her father's job often has us moving from location to location, it wasn't something we could avoid."

Sakura's face lit up as she took a bite. "But she's such a mature young woman. She always speaks her mind, and never takes any grief from anyone. I still remember when a co-worker's son decided to be a little friendlier then he should one time when I took her to the office with me, and we found the poor boy under a pile of garbage, with Izumi still fuming over it! If my friend hadn't known how her son could be, it might have been a whole lot worse."

"She sounds like quite the handful." Kousei commented, laughing at the Sakura's prideful grin. "Kouji's never been too much trouble. He's had his moments, especially after I married Satomi, but we've slowly worked them out. It's nice to see he finally has friends to be with, rather then acting like he can do anything on his own."

"It's not his fault, Kousei." Satomi looked at her husband, giving his hand a soft touch for a moment. "He simply had trouble adjusting with everything, that's all. I'm simply glad he's accepted me now."

Shiro smiled softly as he listened. From the sounds of their parents, the small group of children seemed like they might be a good influence on Alice after all. Feeling Rei's foot tapping his, he looked over to see her watching Ms. Kimura, who was shifting the remains of her food around on her plate.

"Ms. Kimura?" Shiro blinked at the surprised look on her face, obviously not expecting to be spoken to. "Could you tell us about your son? Kouichi, I believe his name was?"

"He's my world." Tomoko spoke softly. "He's meant everything to me since…well, since a long time ago. He's very gentle with everything, always trying to do the right thing, and he's always worrying about others. With his grandmother gone, I'm glad he had his friends with him, so he's not lonely while I'm at work."

"When did she die, Tomoko?" Mr. Minamoto asked, sounding rather concerned.

"A couple years ago… Shortly before Kouji and Kouichi met one another. Kouichi told me later that she had told him about his brother, but asked him not to mention it to me at the time…"

"Tomoko I'm sorry… After dinner, I'd like to know where she was buried, so I can pay my respects to her."

"Me too." Satomi added, getting a slightly surprised look from Kousei. "Perhaps, we could plan to have dinner? All five of us, I mean?" She asked hopefully to the other woman.

Tomoko gave a soft smile as she nodded. "Thank you, Kousei. As for dinner… We'll see how my jobs go… But I hope we can. For the boys' sake, if nothing else."

Shiro watched quietly for the moment, realizing something completely separate was going on, but deciding to let them talk without interruption for the moment.

"Well, then it sounds as if everything is settled?" Rei spoke up, catching her sibling off guard, despite that he had already been thinking the same thing. "After we finish dinner, we'll let them know we have no problems with Alice going out with your children."

Hiroaki smiled and nodded with everyone else. "Just don't let her study with Takuya, or she may develop a bad case of sleeping in class."

---------------

Kouichi Kimura could think of easier things he had done in his life. Battling his friends before he had been freed from Cherubimon's control? A cake walk. Fighting and defeating Ice Devimon? A snap! Trying to start a conversation with Alice during dinner? Now that was a challenge…

"So, Tachi's been on a mild warpath lately." Kouji commented, as he took a bite of his food.

"Oh yea?" Takuya's grin widened a bit. "The poor guy still annoyed with Kouichi and me for pestering him?"

Kouji shrugged absently. "Not sure. He's just been giving everyone in the kendo club crap lately. He even tried picking a fight with a couple of the kids who study kendo outside the school, but Kakashi-sensai put a stop to it, before it got worse."

"You know, jerks like him really take the fun out of things. They act like they can do what they want, then they turn into a major pain when someone denies them something." Junpei wrinkled his nose slightly. "I almost wish someone would teach him a lesson or something, just so he might grow up a little."

Kouichi sighed to himself, taking a couple small bites from his rice ball as he listened. The meal itself had been done for a while, but since no one really wanted to go up and disturb the adults during their discussion, the table still needed to be cleared.

"Oh, I hate guys like him…" Izumi spoke up, frowning. "Reminds me of his boy I met at my mom's work. Although he certainly learned to look without touching, after half of a supply cabinet was dumped on his head." The blond gave a victory sign as she grinned.

"We better just hope Junpei doesn't repeat that guy's mistake then." Tomoki teased, grinning up at the older boy as Junpei blushed faintly.

Takuya laughed as he listened, shaking his head a little. "You know, it's amazing any guy looks at you, Izumi. Half the time when I hear one talk about you, I hear how many teeth they lost in the same conversation!"

Izumi pouted at the teasing. "They can whine all they like. I never did anything without being provoked. Besides, almost every single boy in our school is more immature then Tomoki's classmates."

"Yea, they can't all be as mature as I am, after all." Junpei grinned, puffing his chest out a little.

"Yea, well they can't stuff away their lunch in minutes like you, either." Kouji teased. "The only one to rival you there is Takuya."

Feeling the sensing arguments coming on, Kouichi groaned softly as he palmed his face. When he had arranged for them to eat with Alice during the dinner upstairs, he had hoped his friends might help in getting the girl to open up some. Instead, he felt like they were putting on a small show for the blond introvert, something to laugh at in her head as they teased and argued.

"Kouichi?' The blue haired boy looked up as Izumi called his name, standing next to Alice with some of the dishes in their hands. "Can you get the rest of the dishes for us?"

"Yea, no problem." He answered, turning away from the girls and collecting the remainder of the plates and chopsticks. With the pile in hand, he turned, following the pair into another room of the basement, which seemed to have a large kitchen set inside it, although it seemed more industrial with all the different things made of metal instead of the normal tile that most kitchens were.

As the three began setting the dishes down on the counter next to the sink, Izumi turned to Alice. "Why don't you go ahead back? We can handle this, after all you fed us and everything." The gothic girl watched the older one for a moment, before she gave a small nod and turned, walking quietly out.

"Now then…" Izumi spoke up as Alice left, finding the large metal dishwasher near the sink and sliding it open. "Why haven't you tried talking to her yet, Kouichi?"

Kouichi blinked from the question, freezing in the middle of collecting some of the dishes up as he turned his head to the girl. "What do you mean, Izumi?"

"Kouichi, you're almost as easy to read as your brother is. You've wanted to try and strike a conversation up with Alice all night. So why haven't you?"

"It's not that easy… Especially with the others constantly holding the conversations so far." Lifting the dishes, Kouichi walked over to the girl, the pair slowly putting the dishes into the washer.

"Well, they have been hogging it some… But that's just them, you know? You should still try. After all, if you want her to open up to you, you have to offer your hand first and give it a shot!" Izumi's tone held her cheerful attitude in it as she put the last dish from the handful in. "Go collect another load, I've got to get something."

Kouichi watched the tall blond walk out of the room, shrugging to himself before he resumed collecting dishes up. As he started putting the second handful into the washer, a pair of hands reached out and picked up a couple glasses.

"Thanks Izu…" Kouichi paused as he looked, staring into Alice's ice blue eyes for a moment before his cheeks flushed. "S…sorry, I thought Izumi came back to help."

The girl in black watched him a moment, before she turned and put the glasses away, methodically taking the dishes one at a time and slipping them into the washer.

Kouichi watched her a moment before he started helping again, wondering if he had upset her somehow, although he wasn't sure how he could know for certain of not. Putting the last dish away, he watched her slide the washer door shut, his hands fumbling around a little nervously.

'Well, Izumi said to just give it a shot…'

"Alice?" Kouichi tried to keep his voice from shaking from his nervousness as she looked over to him. "How was your dinner?"

Alice gave a small shrug as she took a step away from the machine. "I am used to Ms. Jan's cooking, it was average for her."

Kouichi gave a soft exhale as she spoke, relaxing some. "I wish I had meals that nice daily. It definitely beats TV dinners all the time."

"Your mother does not cook for you?" She asked in that same neutral voice, as she started to walk for the door.

"No, my mom works two jobs. Eating with her in general is hard to do sometimes. But we make do." Kouichi followed along as she walked out of the room, heading towards the stairs instead of back to the room with the other children.

Alice never even turned her head back as she continued. "What about your father?"

Kouichi rubbed the back of his head slightly as he answered. "They're divorced, actually. Kouji lives with our father, and I live with out mother. Honestly, I didn't know about Kouji until a couple years ago."

"I see." Alice responded shortly as she led the way into the room with the adults. He swallowed quietly as he went in after her, following her lead as she began to collect dishes around the conversing parents, soon having a nice stack built up in his arms, about twice as tall as the smaller one Alice had.

Tomoki's father looked up as he lay his plate on the dishes, giving the book a concerned look for a moment. "Sure you don't want some help with that? It looks pretty heavy."

"I've got it, Mr. Himi." Kouichi grimaced from the weight of the dishes, taking his time as he finally reached the stairwell, Alice waiting patiently for him before leading the way back downstairs.

"Are you sure you do not require assistance? I could get one of your friends, if you wish." Alice asked as they began walking down the stairs.

Kouichi winced from a couple plates pinching his finger slightly for a moment, taking it slow as he made his way down the stairs. "It's alright, I've got it. Just lead the way for me."

Nodding, Alice continued down the stairs, taking her own time to keep pace with Kouichi. After a few minutes, they reached the washer again, Alice quickly sliding her stack into it and working to relieve Kouichi's arms of the weight as he held them for her. Finally, the teen was able to relax, as Alice slide the door to the washer shut and locked it, turning the appliance on.

"Thanks, I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold those…" Kouichi leaned against the counter, rubbing his arms a little.

"Why did you not simply set them down?" Alice asked without looking, as she opened a small flap on the top of the washer and added the soup.

"Well…" Kouichi's cheeks flushed anew, his mind never having thought about just setting them down. "If I had set them down, it might have taken longer to put them all away. I thought it might save us the trouble."

The young girl nodded to the response, accepting it as she stood up. "Thank you, for assisting me." She said simply, moving past him as she walked from the room.

Kouichi followed along, rubbing the back of his head as he shrugged. "No problem, I never mind lending a hand."

As they walked back into the room, five pairs of eyes turned towards them, making Kouichi's cheeks flush again. Junpei and Takuya's grins seemed a little uneasy looking, while his brother had the same grin on his face he had the other day when he brought Kouichi to the church in the first place. Izumi's face held a sweet smile, while Tomoki just watched them come in normally.

"What?" Kouichi asked, the looks making him feel further uneasy. "Why are you all staring?"

"Nothing at all." Junpei answered. "We were just talking about this guy we know. He's always being such a nice guy. Making sure people are alright, helping clean up and doing dishes…"

Kouichi frowned slightly at the comment, knowing whom it was Junpei meant.

"Perhaps you should tell your friend you appreciate it then, instead of simply talking about him when he is not around?" Alice spoke up, surprising more of the other teens.

"Uh, yea… I'll make sure I do…" Junpei said softly, watching as Alice and Kouichi took their seats at the table again.

"Oh, I just remembered! I was talking to the boys about going to this new karaoke club next weekend. I was wondering if you would like to join us, Alice?" Izumi smiled to the other blond as she asked.

"I do not know. I would need to speak with Father Jan before I can answer."

"I have no problem, if you wish to go." The table of teens looked to see the priest and Ms. Kimura standing in the doorway, both smiling. "You're welcome to go with them if you like, Alice."

Alice looked at the older man a moment, before giving a small nod. "I will join you for the karaoke then." She said as she turned back to Izumi.

"Wonderful! Are you free next Wednesday?" Izumi's smile brightened at the gothic girl nodded. "Alright, then we'll go clothes shopping after school Wednesday, so we having something nice for the club!"

The boys all twitched as the girl spoke, simply content she wasn't adding them into the shopping as well.

"Well, your parents are all waiting for you upstairs. You should probably all hurry, before they get impatient." Shiro spoke up, still smiling at the group.

The teens each said their goodbye's to Alice, Izumi confirming the shopping date before she left. Tomoki ran ahead, while Takuya and Junpei began trying to figure out when a karaoke club outing had been planned.

"Thanks for the great dinner. It's been fun." Kouji said to the priest and Alice, walking up to them and the twin's mother.

"Agreed, please tell Ms. Jan it was a wonderful meal, for us." Kouichi added, smiling softly.

"Of course, I'm sure she'll enjoying hearing more praise." Shiro smiled to the twins as he moved out of the doorway more.

Kouji nodded, turning to the blond girl and bowing his head politely. "Thanks for having us over too, it was nice meeting you."

"It was nice to meet you all as well." Alice spoke, bringing a surprised blink from the priest, unused to hearing her speak to people other then his sister and himself normally.

As Ms. Kimura led the boys up the stairs, Kouichi turned his head back to the woman. "So, how did it go, mom? Are we still on for tomorrow?"

Tomoko smiled at Kouichi, giggling softly. "Yes, we are. Kouji, you're welcome to join us, if you like."

Kouji turned his head to his mother, giving a small smile. "Sounds great mom, what's the plan?"

Ms. Kimura tapped her lips a moment. "How does ice cream and a movie sound to you both? I get out around five tomorrow, since I only work once, so we can try and catch a evening show, maybe even get dinner."

Kouji smiled more as he nodded. "Sounds great mom."

Kouichi simply smiled as he watched his mom invite his twin along, feeling a bit proud of her for it as they walked out of the house.

------------------------------

Rocker - "Oh good, another chapter done."

ToyAgu - "Umm… What all happened?"

Rocker - " ToyAgu, did you even READ the chapter?"

ToyAgu - "Umm… well…. Kinda… maybe… not really…"

Flora slips up and hugs ToyAgu from behind. "ToyAgu is too much your action and adventure muse it seems. He has a little trouble keeping up with this kind of story."

Rocker - "Yea yea… yet, he only gives me crap when I DO write a fight scene in a story…"

Witchie grins. "Well, take what ya can get then. Anyway, Next time, is the big karaoke outing! But first Izumi needs to get Alice something more then her gothic church girl outfit to wear. Plus Kouichi's got his own problems he has to deal with. And why is Takuya being so secretive suddenly? Guess being a teen might not be easier then a Legendary Warrior, as the gang realizes next time, in Faith in Darkness!"

A/N - As I said, I had to come up with the majority of first names myself, so in case your not used to the character's last names to know who is who…

Yuriko Kanbara - Takuya's mother

Hiroaki Kanbara - Takuya's father

Kousei Minamoto - Koji and Kouichi's father

Satomi Minamoto - Kouji's step-mother

Tomoko Kimura - Kouji and Kouichi's mother

Aiko Himi - Tomoki's mother

Satu Himi - Tomoki's dad

Sakura Orimoto - Izumi's Mother

Nariko Shibayama - Junpei's Mother

Toshi Shibayama - Junpei's Father

And if your curious about siblings for the families, aside from Kouji/Kouichi…

Shinya Kanbara - Takuya's younger brother

Yutaka Himi - Tomoki's elder brother

Anyway… Can anyone name the special guest name included in the chapter? If you can name it, and tell me where it is from, you'll at least get a "Hey, someone saw it!" From me, if nothing else. Would offer some minor prize, but I'm already over my neck in fics that need working on. But you never know, might offer a guest shot or something in a future fic. Guess people will just have to guess and see, right?


	3. A Night on the Town!

"Takuya, I swear, your fashion sense is horrible!" Izumi huffed softly as she pushed the teen into the clothing store.

"Well excuse me! I happen to like how I dress, thank you!" Takuya protested and gave a grimace at the slightly shorter Tomoki as the younger child laughed at the pair. "Hey buddy, how about lending me a hand?"

"No way." Tomoki continued giving that cheesy grin at his friend as he watched Izumi start picking up jackets and holding them up to him for measuring. "Besides, I got some nice clothes out of this."

The former Legendary Warrior of Fire frowned, making a soft noise of annoyance as his arms were pulled away from his body by the forceful girl and held out straight. "Traitor…"

Izumi held a dark reddish jacket up to the boy, making him stand still unless she moved him herself. "Oh quit complaining. Tomorrow I help Alice pick out something nice, and Junpei and Kouichi didn't complain at all when I took them out to find some nice things to wear yesterday."

"You could ask Junpei to jump into a data stream, and I doubt he would argue. And why haven't you tormented Kouji yet then? Why is he special?"

"Kouji showed me what he was wearing when I asked him to come. It seems like he was the only one who was ready for a night of karaoke and clubbing." Feeling Takuya's arms try and droop to his sides, Izumi gave a forceful tug to straight them out again, checking out the jacket's sleeve length before setting it aside.

"It's not so bad, Onii-chan. After all, my outfit is going to look really nice." Setting his bag down, Tomoki pulled the dark green jacket Izumi had gotten him, sliding it on over his blue shirt as he stretched his arms around a little. "And it fits perfectly!"

"Besides, it's not like you're paying for anything…" Izumi said with a hint of annoyance as she slipped behind Takuya, holding a dark red shirt with flame patterns on it and tried to compare it to her subject. "So why not just deal with it? I could always decide to do a complete makeover on you, you know…"

"Problem, me?! Nah, time of my life here!" Takuya quickly forced the words out, giving a loud and very obvious laugh as Izumi winked over the boy's shoulder. "But could we at least try and eat soon, I am getting a little hungry."

"Sure, once you've changed." Appearing back in front of the goggle-headed boy, Izumi shoved and shirt and jacket into his arms with a pair of matching black pants. "Go try them on and let us see what you look like, then I'll treat you guys to lunch."

Tomoki laughed again as Takuya rushed into the changing room, the prospect of food obvious driving the boy to try and end his torment quickly. Sliding the jacket back into his bag, he looked over to the blonde girl as she started looking through a case of different hair accessories.

"Hey, Izumi?" The girl gave a small noise to indicate she heard, although she didn't turn away from the case. "Why are we dressing up for this, anyway? We've never dressed up to go out together before."

"Because this will be Kouichi and Alice's first time out together. We need to try and make it as special as possible, otherwise Cupid might need more of our help, you know?" Looking to the small stands on top of the glass case, Izumi started sifting through the necklaces.

"Cupid? But I thought Kouichi said he just wanted to help her try and not be so lonely?" Tomoki said, sounding a little confused as he watched the girl browse.

"Well he does. But Kouji has already been a little obvious in showing he is trying to find a way to hook them up though. And I think Takuya and Junpei might be planning things as well now." Izumi gave a soft sigh, shaking her head. "And boys have no talent for matchmaking, trust me."

"Hook up? So that's why everyone has been talking about them so much, their trying to get them to be boy and girlfriend?"

"Bingo!" Izumi said, pulling a small charm from the mesh of items, showing it to the younger boy. From her hand hung a small charm with a little white bear painted onto it. "So I need to try and make sure the night run smoothly, so they can get a chance to get to know one another and let things grow, without those three doing something to mess everything up. What do you think about this, anyway?"

"I like it!" Tomoki grinned since he realized how similar the charm was to Chakmon. "Do you need me to do anything, Izumi? I'll try and help, if I can. Alice seems really nice, and her mom is a GREAT cook!"

Izumi grinned as she set the charm aside on the counter, so she could remember it buy it. "Actually, I could. You can…"

The pair paused as the doors to the dressing room opened, revealing the changed Takuya. The flames on the shirt were almost a dark orange on the crimson shade, rising from the bottom of it, while the jacket seemed to match the shirt's main color perfectly. The pants fit into the scheme as well, while the former Legendary Warrior had a pair of nicely matching sunglasses on as well that he hadn't walked in with, in place of his goggles.

"Alright, it fits. Can we please get something to eat now?"

------------------------------

Faith in Darkness

Entry 3 "A night on the town!"

Written by Rocker Starlight

A/N - To fix something I had forgotten to change in the Author notes of chapter one, Lady Iap is no longer the ONLY female in the Diaries group. Heh Actually, between Akino, the second lady of Diaries, joining our motley crew, as well as Shasta and Skyla both being apparent partial fans and more, we seem to have gotten more females around us then we know what to do with.

------------------------------

"This would be perfect!"

Izumi grinned brightly as she held up a deep blue dress, a simple design with two shoulder straps. Looking behind herself, Alice stood in her normal black dress with white trims, the small cross hanging from her neck standing out as she looked around the store. The former Warrior of Wind would almost swear that the other blonde didn't know what to do, although the blank expression hid whether or not she was right.

Turning with her new hope for a dress over her arm, she slipped up next to Alice and looked over her shoulder as the dress she had been staring at for almost fifteen minutes straight. The dress looked way too similar to what the gothic girl was wearing already for Izumi's tastes, making her sigh softly.

"No, that's just like what you wear all the time." Izumi protested, wrinkling her nose as she pinched the hanging dress' sleeve.

"What is wrong with what I am wearing?" Alice asked in that almost unchanging tone.

"Nothing, you look very nice. But for something like this, we need something special. And we girls need to look our best, you know."

Izumi winked as she moved the dress to another rack, ignoring Alice's gaze following it for a moment as the former Legendary Warrior began rummaging through the other black dresses.

"This looks nice." Pulling a dress with a single shoulder strap and a small dragon design sown into it, winding around the fabric as it if were hugging the body, Izumi smiled brightly. She turned and held it up to her new friend, finding herself correct at it appearing to be the right size from a quick check. "How about trying this on, while I try on my own?"

Alice simply nodded, taking the dress and walking into a dressing room without a word. Shrugging to herself at the lack of words, Izumi did the same, slowly slipping from her school uniform in the small room.

"Next time, I think about bringing a change of clothes to school, when I am shopping right afterward." Izumi muttered to herself, giving her bra a minor adjustment before pulling the hanger from the dress and sliding it over her head. After wiggling it down and straightening it out, she examined herself in the mirror some, ignoring her bra showing.

"Hey Alice, mind giving me an opinion?" Izumi called out, peeking out of the dressing room to find the other girl already waiting outside. As always with Izumi's picks for people, the dress was a perfect fit, showing the gothic girl's figure nicely. She had even taken her bra off before she slipped it on, with no straps showing.

Slipping from the room, Izumi held her hips as she did a small spin. "How does this look? Be honest, because I'm not sure if it is nice or not."

Alice watched the spinning girl for a moment, before speaking out simply. "It makes your hips look wide."

Blinking at the blunt response, Izumi moved to a mirror between the stalls, seeing what Alice meant. "So it does… Dang it, it's so easy picking things out for everyone else, but it takes me forever for myself…"

Izumi slipped back into the dressing room, quickly reemerging in her school fuku as she hung the dress back up. Just as she started looking for another, she noticed Alice still standing in hers, the quiet girl simply watching her, not having moved really.

"Alice… You can go change back into your normal dress. After I find one for me, we'll grab some accessories, then work on things like stockings and shoes."

Alice nodded, slipping back into the dressing room. She reemerged with her normal dress on again, the dragon one folded neatly over her arms as she moved next to Izumi. After a few moments, her hand reached past where Izumi was still looking, plucking a purple dress from the rack. Small flower petal patterns covering the fabric and it only had a single shoulder strap, the same as Alice's except for being on the opposite shoulder.

'This one." Alice said simply, as she held the purple dress out.

Izumi blinked again in surprise. She did agree the dress looked very nice, but Alice's actions were the confusing part. 'Maybe she is finally opening up some, like Kouichi wanted.' Smiling gently, she took the dress, slipping past a couple other women before she made it into the dressing room.

Walking back out, this time with her bra on underneath, Izumi posed the new dress for the other girl. "Good choice, Alice. How does it look?" She ran her hands over the soft fabric of the dress, definitely liking the flower patterns sewn into it as she felt them under her fingers.

Alice watched the girl turning again, giving a small nod. "It flatters you well."

Grinning, Izumi nodded. "Alright. Next is shoe shopping!" She gave a small cheer and jump, making a couple people look at her oddly, while Alice simply watched her silently.

Quickly changing back, Izumi took the two dresses up and set them on the counter as the line slowly dwindled. With only one person left ahead of her, she looked back, seeing Alice looking at one of the charms where the former Legendary Warrior has found small charms for each of her friends and herself. Leaning her head over, the charm's face held a dog picture on it, looking something like a Doberman, she thought. As Alice turned the charm, the kanji for loyalty was drawn onto the back of it.

"Dog lover?" Izumi asked. Alice's hand immediately released the charm as she turned to the slightly taller girl with that neutral expression. "What, it's alright. I prefer cats myself, but liking dogs isn't a crime you know."

"It is not that." Alice spoke softly. Izumi almost thought she heard some emotional tone in the voice, but with the way the other girl spoke, it was hard to tell for certain. "It… reminded me of someone I lost long ago. That is all."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring back anything painful." Izumi fidgeted a little, picking the dresses up as they moved to the counter so the clerk could begin ringing them up.

"It is fine. It is in the past."

Izumi watched the girl a moment, pulling the charge card her mother had given her out of her school bag and handing it to the clerk as she watched Alice give a passing glance back at the charms rack again. Sliding the card back into the small pocket of her bad, Izumi took the bag the dresses were put in, walking out of the store with her friend.

"Alright, now onto shoes…" Izumi blinked as her stomach gave a rather loud rumble, trying to remind the girl she hadn't eaten as much for lunch today, in her attempt to make sure the shopping plans went well. "Umm… Maybe food first, then shoes?" She amended, giving a slightly embarrassed laugh.

"Food is fine." Alice said, not seeming phased at the change as she followed Izumi towards the food court.

After acquiring a couple meals from MacRonalds, Izumi lead the way to one of the smaller booths, slipping in opposite the quiet girl as she started to munch on her food. She watched, noticing the precise way Alice was eating, taking her time with each bit but not seeming slow about it however.

"So Alice… Where did you transfer from anyway?"

Alice continued munching on one of her fries for a moment before she answered. "I went to school in Kyoto before I left there."

Izumi watched the girl for a moment, waiting as she expected a little more. Once she realized no answer was coming, she gave a small nod. "So, any guys you like back in Kyoto then? Any past boyfriends?"

Alice's hand paused on the fries for a moment as the question came out, making Izumi worry if she had hit a bad nerve again on accidentally, before her movements continued again. "One… But he had to go away, to make sure everyone back home would be ok…"

Izumi frowned slightly at the comment. "Had to go away? What, did he think leaving would make everyone happy or something? Boys, I swear sometimes…"

"He sacrificed himself."

That made the former Warrior of Wind pause as she heard the comment, blinking for a moment. "Sacrificed?"

"Yes. He did it to make sure everyone would survive, when they were in danger."

Izumi was more then a little caught off by the simple way she was explaining this. If this had all happened to her, she didn't think she could be so cool about explaining how a boy she liked got killed saving other people. The thought in itself was a little depressing remembering some of the digimon who had let themselves be deleted and turned into digitama or worse simply deleted, just to help her and her friends back in the Digital World.

"Izumi?"

The older girl blinked as Alice said her name, giving a nervous laugh. "Sorry. It would be hard to explain, but I can sympathize in a way. My mind just went into la la land for a second is all."

As the Gothic girl nodded, the pair resumed eating in silence, finishing the meal before too long. While Alice simply watched around the food court, observing the people, Izumi's mind couldn't seem to stop rewinding back and remembering some of the friends and other digimon from the Digital World that had given everything to help protect 'The Legendary Warriors".

"Come on. We should get back to shopping, so you don't get home too late." Izumi said softly, watching the other blonde nod in agreement. The pair slipped from the booth, throwing their trash away. Izumi almost didn't even think about it as she turned and ran right into someone's chest.

"Hey, watch where you're… Hey, it's you!" Izumi looked up at the slightly taller boy, rubbing her nose as his attention went immediately to Alice. "I knew you couldn't stay away, babe."

"Babe? You're the one standing in the way…" Izumi muttered softly, glaring up at the boy. She thought she recognized him from school, but the slicked back hair and ragtag clothing just made him look like some bad greaser with a kendo stick strapped to his back.

"You ran into me, toots. So why not bug off, this babe and I have things to discuss, since she got me embarrassed the other day."

Izumi's frowned deepened from the words, especially when he took a hold of Alice's arm and tried to pull her away. Planning to give the neanderthal a piece of her mind, she stepped forward again, opening her mouth to start the verbal beating.

"Why not just let her go and move on, Tachi?"

Izumi paused with the idiot boy and Alice, all looking over to Kouji, leaning against one of the pillars from the ceiling. Wearing his normal blue clothing, including the bandana over his hair, the Warrior of Light frowned as he watched the kendo student that Izumi recognized as the one Kouichi and Takuya mentioned when they first met Alice.

"And what are ya gonna do if I don't, Minamoto? If you leave me be, you can have the airhead with her, but I need to have a talk with this one about who she's dealing with."

"Oh, I don't think you'll be talking for a good couple of hours." Kouji smirked, pointing behind the kendo club member.

Tachi turned his head, just in time to see one of the plastic food trays slamming into his head.

As the older boy collapsed to the ground unconscious, Izumi panted softly, still feeling a bit of the anger from the comment as she tossed the cracked tray onto his chest. "Come on Alice, let's get back to shopping." Pushing the shorter girl to start towards Kouji, Izumi heard a groan of pain as she made sure her foot landed somewhere tender on the prone boy before walking along.

Kouji gave a wince at the foot, getting in step with the girls as they moved back towards the normal stores. "Was that last part necessary? I expected the tray, but the foot seemed a bit excessive."

"Junpei said someone should teach him a lesson. Well maybe singing in a higher key for a day will remind him to leave girls who aren't interested alone."

Kouji smirked again, slipping his hands into his pants pockets. "Yea, as well as the lesson every other boy in our school learned from you, never say something stupid within your reach."

Izumi shrugged at the comment. "Not my fault if some of our schoolmates can't understand when to shut up, or when to keep their hands to themselves."

"Yea, whatever. So Alice, I hope Izumi here isn't boring you to death with her shopping?"

Alice turned her head, regarding the boy for a moment before she spoke. "Boring me? I was unaware this activity was meant to be something that would lack in interest."

Kouji laughed softly at the unique response. "Yea, well Takuya would argue with that. He was complaining earlier about being 'dragged' here by Izumi and Tomoki."

Izumi rolled her eyes. "I find the perfect outfit for him to go to the Karaoke club in, buy it and food for him, and he still complains. If it's not food or a girl posing, he always has something to gripe about…"

"Yea, well I wouldn't worry. He was also bragging about how he's going to put the rest of us to shame with the outfit that you got for him. So obviously he must at least like that much."

"What can I say, it's a talent." Izumi said proudly as she led the way into the shoe store, sitting Alice down. She slipped away from the pair for a moment, talking to a clerk of the fairly fancy store, a girl with long black hair that was rather happy to see Izumi.

"Well, I take it your enjoying yourself then?" Kouji asked as he watched his friend walk off, leaning onto the back of one of the other chairs.

Alice looked back to him for a moment, sitting with her hands resting in her lap. "It is not repugnant, which your friend seems to think."

"Yea, well Takuya is special. As Izumi said, 'if he can't eat it and it's not female, he finds something to complain about'. Puberty with that one has been more of a chore then just something that happens."

Kouji watched the gothic girl as he waited with her. It only took another minute before Izumi came back with a couple boxes. "Perfecto, got them! Here, try them on Alice." She handed one of the boxes to the other girl, as she took a seat and moved to do the same.

Alice pulled the black shoes, not pausing at the slight curve and heel to them as she slide her own shoes off and put the new pair on. As with the dress, they seemed to be a perfect fit.

"I thought I was right about your size. And Tomoyo-san is wonderful about finding matching items quickly." Izumi smiled as she slid her own shoes on, admiring them for a moment, before putting them in the box again. "Especially since the clothing store we went into first was hers. It makes it that much easier."

Kouji blinked for a moment, looking up at the girl who didn't seem like she could be too much older then the three of them. "You mean she owns that clothing store you always go to AND this place?"

"Well, actually her mother does. But Tomoyo-san comes down and helps out a lot since her designs are what inspired her mother to open them. Apparently when she was younger, she tested a lot of her first designs on an old friend of hers, and included the friend's boyfriend as well, until her mother took an interest and decided to open the stores."

Kouji nodded, watching the black haired girl helping someone else, a kind smile never leaving her face as she seemed to be discussing what the customer wanted.

"I take it then, she is why you shop here all the time?" Kouji asked, as he looked back to the girls as they walked to the counter for a young boy to ring them up.

Izumi nodded as she handed her credit card to the young man. "Precisely. Her clothing line is exquisite. I've been shopping here for a year now, and I've never left the store without something I wanted. I even bring mom in, when she needs something nice and formal for business meetings."

"Yes, Izumi-san is one of my favorite customers."

The trio turned around to the sweet face of the young girl herself, wearing a black jacket over the dark blue dress she had been wearing.

Izumi smiled as she took back her card and picked up the bags with the shoes inside them. "Tomoyo-san, these are two of my friends. Kouji Minamoto is one of the ones I have told you about before, and Alice McCoy is the girl I told you about when I mentioned coming dress shopping last Monday."

"A pleasure to meet you both." Tomoyo smiled as she bowed politely to the pair. "I hope you enjoy the dress, the dragon design is one of my favorites."

Alice bowed back in return. "I am sure I will."

Tomoyo nodded again, still smiling sweetly. "I do hope so. I wish I could get to know you both more, but I must be going. My mother is expecting me for dinner plans. Perhaps another time?" The trio nodded, as the young designer bowed again and slipped away with her farewells.

"She's ladylike. Wonder why she's friends with you, Izumi." Kouji smiled as he dodged the playful swing the girl made with one of her bags.

"You know, a gentleman would offer to carry our bags for us…" Izumi gave a mischievous smile as she slowly started to close in on her friend.

"I don't thi…" Kouji turned to try and run, finding Alice standing directly in the middle of his escape route. Wondering for a moment how she got there without him noticing her, he felt Izumi sliding the bags onto his arms, blinking in surprise.

"I'm sure Kouichi and your parents would be proud knowing what a gentleman you are, Kouji. Now come on, we only have the base for our outfits, now we accessorize!"

Kouji gave a small sigh of defeat, deciding the embarrassment of trying to escape his friend's clutches would be worse then dealing with it. Giving a small heft of the light bags, he held a silent hope that maybe they wouldn't need too much more as he followed the blonde pair back into the main part of the mall.

---------------

"I'm really starting to feel nervous about this…" Kouichi muttered to himself. Tugging on the collar of his Chinese style jacket, he looked around at everyone waiting outside the club with him.

With the stylish dark green jacket over a lighter green shirt, Tomoki spoke with Junpei near the door. With his hair in a haphazard spike, similar to Takuya's, as well as a pair of goggles very like the former Warrior of Fire's, the youngest member of their group was almost like a miniature version of the leader.

Junpei, however, was much more collected. The larger boy was in a very nice suit, almost something Kouichi would think would be good for a formal evening. The clothing was a very dark blue shade, enough he had thought it was black when he first saw it. With the collar slightly undone right at the top, the oldest of the group leaned against the wall of the club, trying to be patient.

"You know, for her pushing so much to come here, you would think Izumi would be on time…" Takuya grumbled. Having the shades he had replaced his goggles with for the night sitting on his forehead, Takuya showed the obvious state of Izumi's involvement in the clothing department. With the stylish crimson jacket on over the flame shirt, the former leader was obviously more then a little impatient to be getting inside from his pacing.

"It's Izumi. She's probably planning on making her and Alice fashionably late." Kouji added from his seat on the bench in front of the club. Although without the help of Izumi as the rest of them had been given, he still fit perfectly with everyone else. Ironically, Kouichi's twin had a very similar outfit to Takuya, save with a blue color scheme. With a headband style bandana holding his hair back, as well as a small band keeping it in a ponytail, the last noticeable difference were the small, lighter blue waves on the shirt instead of fire like on Takuya's.

"Can't she be fashionably early for once?" Takuya grumbled, crossing his arms as he smiled to a couple girls walking into the club. "I'm getting tired of waiting to go in…"

Sighing softly, Kouichi partly agreed with the spiky haired boy. While normally he didn't mind waiting on Izumi, the fact that she was coming with Alice had the boy's stomach twisting in knots. Straightening the black Japanese suit that Izumi had picket out for him, with two silver dragon outlines winding around the arms, the twin still wasn't sure why he had gotten something so different picked out compared to everyone else. It reminded him of something he had seen on an anime once. Ramna one half, he thought it was called.

"Ya might as well TRY and be patient, Taky. I mean, Izumi will get here when she wants. Not much we can do otherwise, you know?" Junpei offered, shrugging slightly.

"Thank you, Jun-kun. At least some of them understand what patience is, right Alice?"

Hearing the final member of the group's voice, Kouichi felt relief that his waiting was finally over. However when he turned to face the pair, the butterflies in the pit of his belly returned with friends.

Izumi wore the purple colored dress she had bought the other day, what looked like sakura patterns stitched into the fabric. With her left shoulder uncovered, save for the strap of her purse, the dress flowed out past her hips enough to allow her legs a good amount of room, especially with the slits working up the sides of the dress from the bottom. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun, two chopsticks piercing the ball of hair to hold it in place, and her face showed a moderate amount of makeup on, something Izumi rarely did.

Even more shocking to the former Warrior of Darkness was the girl next to her. With a black dress covering her body, similar to Izumi's save the shoulder strap being over her left and the dragon outline wrapping around her body, Alice was obviously not used to what she was wearing. One hand was reaching up to the cross around her neck, rubbing it nervously, while her other arm held her purse tightly. Her hair was even done differently, two noticeable parts of her bangs hanging down each side of her face, and the rest of her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail with her black ribbons. The obvious emotions she was showing were definitely a surprising reaction for the evening.

"Well, are you all going to just stand around gawking? Let's go in!" Izumi's honey sweet smile flashed over them all as she led Alice to the door and paid the entrance fee for everyone. The boys quickly followed in, wiping the surprised looks on their faces away.

Inside was a new matter all together. It was obvious the club had already been doing well since it's opening, judging by the large crowd mulling around. To the left of the entrance looked almost like a restaurant, with tables full of other kids their age eating meals and drinks. It even included a bar on the far wall with stools, making it almost seem like a real bar instead of the teen karaoke club that it was.

The path that led from the door went to a coat check counter, right next to the large dance floor that held the majority of the people in the club on it's floor. Various lights flashed over the people and floor's surface, giving it a surreal appearance as the crowd moved together. Where everyone could see between the tables and dance floor, was a long stage, currently holding a boy and girl singing a popular song together, huge speakers stood on each side of the stage, which played the music and carried their voices as well.

"Wow…" Kouichi said, a little stunned from his first club experience as his eyes moved from person to person, much as the rest of his friends were.

"What?!" Takuya called back, his glasses sliding over his eyes for a moment before he put them back on his forehead. "Can't hear ya!"

"I said wow!" Kouichi repeated.

"Still can't hear ya!" Takuya called back, walking in anyway as he led the group to one of empty tables.

As everyone took his or her seat, Kouichi once again noticed the unease Alice was showing. Sitting between himself and Izumi, the girl was clutching her cross even tighter, her face almost hiding her nervousness as she looked around the crowd and flowed around them.

"Alice?"

The girl almost jumped as Kouichi spoke to her, blinking for a moment before her neutral expression returned. "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" Kouichi tilted his head slightly.

"I am fine, Kouichi." Alice quickly turned back to the table, picking up the menus that had already been placed on the table and opening it up.

Feeling a nudge in his side, Kouichi looked away from Alice for a moment, watching his brother making a motion with his hands towards the girl on his right. When Kouji seemed to realize his brother didn't understand what he was trying to say, he picked up his menu, motioning him closer.

"Look, don't let her hole herself up. Keep talking, try and find a common interest." Kouji whispered to his brother, using the menu to hide it by acting like he was pointing something out.

Shaking his head slightly at the idea it seemed his brother was pushing to see, Kouichi watched as everyone else already had their menu's in hand and were discussing what to get. Izumi was keeping Alice talking, pointing out things she was recommending to the gothic girl, as Kouichi finally lifted his own menu.

"I think I'll go with the coney dog and fries." Takuya announced, slapping his menu onto the table.

Tomoki was the next with his menu down, grinning brightly. "Hamburger for me!"

"I'm with him, nice hamburger and fries." Junpei added.

"I think I'll wait…" Kouji finally spoke up. "I ate a little at home before I came, so I'll give it awhile before I order something."

Izumi seemed to have the same idea, already having her menu folded up on the table, as well as Alice. Kouichi took a minute, deciding to just get some fries as he laid his own menu down and looked around the table.

"Alright, I'll go make the order for us." Junpei said as he stood. "Anyone wanna come with me to help carry the food?"

Takuya grinned as he pointed to the more nervous of the twins, making Kouichi blink. "I think Kouichi can."

Frowning for just a second, Kouichi just sighed and nodded as he stood. "Does anyone else want anything then?"

Izumi tapped her lips softly for a moment. ""Just get us a couple ice waters for now, ok Kouichi?"

The blue haired teen nodded, pushing his chair in and following Junpei to the counter where the older boy ordered. Taking a seat with his back to the bar, Kouichi watched the people on the dance floor, occasionally looking back at his table.

"So what's your plan?"

Kouichi blinked, turning back to Junpei as he spoke. "Plan?"

"Yea. What's your plan? I mean, you were able to get her out with us, so now what? I think you could get her on the dance floor easily enough."

Kouichi blinked and flushed slightly, glad for the darkness in the club right now. "Wha… Why would I have some plan? I asked her with us to help her try and open up. You make it sound like this is a date."

"Well isn't it?" Kouichi made an exasperated noise as he saw that grin on the older boy's face, a little too similar to his brother's face lately. "I mean, all the effort to get her to go out with us all, everyone dressing up for a new karaoke club?"

"Well it's not!" Kouichi said quickly, his cheeks even darker as he listened. "I think everyone has been reading way too much into this, personally."

"Whatever you said, Kouichi. But if you want my opinion…"

"Which you'll give me whether I asked or not…"

Junpei grinned brightly. "I think your not reading enough into it. Now I'm not saying start analyzing every little thing, but sometimes you do need to try and notice the little things too."

Kouichi gave a small nod as he listened, watching the waters being sat down next to the tray of food. "We'll see…" He commented, turning to take the girl's drinks back to the table as Junpei followed with the tray of food.

The former Legendary Warrior of Darkness kept quiet for a bit, watching as his friends went into their normal discussions. Takuya complaining about his teachers some more, while Junpei talked about a new recipe his parents were trying out, gotten from a friend across seas. Tomoki and Kouji talked back and forth, although they were keeping the conversation too low for him to hear what they were talking about.

"So Kouichi…" Izumi perked up, catching the teen's attention. "Kouji tell you we ran into Tachi the other day?"

Kouichi blinked from the odd subject choice, although a bit concerned considering everything he had been hearing about the kendo member lately. "Is everyone alright?"

"We're fine," Kouji added in as he joined the conversation. "But I don't think Tachi's going to look at Izumi without running now."

Izumi gave a victory sign. "Let's just say, 'he's singing a different tune'."

Apparently the rest of the table heard the comment as well, joining in on the laughing. Kouichi shook his head slightly, having a little trouble believing it had happened, although he certainly believed Izumi WOULD do it. And considering how Tachi acted all the time, he had probably brought it on himself as well.

As everyone with food finally finished their meals up, Kouichi looked over, noticing Takuya looking towards the dance floor some. While everyone else was in casual conversations again, the wild haired teen seemed to be very focused on something, which was unusual to find.

"Takuya!" Kouichi tried to get the teen's attention unsuccessfully. "Hey Takuya!"

After an elbow in the side from Junpei brought the teen back, Takuya gave his completely clueless look as he looked at everyone around the table. "What?"

"Ok, this isn't class, so you shouldn't be having nap time. So what were you staring at?" Kouji spoke up first, leaning on the table some.

"What, staring?" Takuya's grin gave him away, obviously having something in mind. "I wasn't staring! Why would I be staring, huh?"

"Right…" The table of friends collectively said, rather used to Takuya's habits.

It wasn't much longer before the table finally started thinning. Izumi decided she was in a mood to dance some, making Junpei and Takuya blink as she snagged Tomoki to join her on the floor. Takuya, not on to leave opportunity at the door, walked to the bar, finding the girls who had smiled at him when they walked in and started up a conversation.

"Hey Junpei?" Kouji asked as he stood up. "See those kids over there? Don't they look familiar?"

Junpei blinked for a moment, looking in the direction Kouji indicated before smiling. "Yea they do." The larger boy stood up as well. "If you two will excuse us, we'll be right back." Before Alice or Kouichi could respond, the pair were off towards another table, leaving the two alone for the first time tonight.

Suddenly, the butterflies seemed to be back with a vengeance, wondering how the table had emptied so quickly. Looking over to the blonde girl with him, she had stopped her nervous movements once she had her water, holding the cup with both hands and taking small drinks of it. Even now, she still had a little under half of her water left.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Kouichi asked the girl, deciding to just try and start a conversation like he had the other day.

Alice took a moment before she answered, taking another sip of her water. "It is… crowded. Very loud as well."

"Yea, I know… I didn't think it would be this packed, when Izumi talked about it. Sorry if your not enjoying yourself though."

"I did not say that…" Alice almost spoke too softly for the teen to hear, giving a glance around the crowd for a moment. "So many people in such a small area is very different then I am used to, is all."

Kouichi nodded a little, glancing at his brother and Junpei talking to the table of kids. He had to admit, the four of them looked remarkably familiar, but he couldn't seem to place them from this distance. Giving his head a small shake, he gave himself a small yell for distracting himself like that.

"You said you're not used to so many people around you, right?" Kouichi looked back to the gothic girl, watching her nod slowly. "Well, the best way to get over problems like that, is to dive right in. At least Takuya always says it is. While not the most reliable on advice normally, he does have a point though for this situation."

"But, we are already within the crowd, are we not?" Alice asked, the advice apparently catching her attention as she turned towards Kouichi.

"Well, there is one place it is more crowded…" Kouichi pointed towards the dance floor.

Alice turned her head and looked, giving a small nod. "You wish to join Izumi and Tomoki in dancing?"

"Well… Would you like to dance?" Kouichi asked simply, one of his hands underneath the table and fidgeting with the bottom of his jacket nervously.

"That would be acceptable." The blonde girl nodded again, turning back to Kouichi as she turned in her seat.

Giving a mental sigh of relief, Kouichi smiled softly as he stood up. He offered his hand, which Alice accepted, as he helped her stand, letting go slowly and with a faint blush as he led the way to the dance floor.

As they slipped into the crowd, Kouichi still had a gentle smile on his face as he and Alice started dancing to the current song. He started getting into the swing of the tune, trying not to bump into anyone. As he watched Alice, she closed her eyes and simply started swaying with the music, seeming as if she were forgetting the crowd around her as she let the music move her body.

'She really is cute though...' Kouichi admitted to himself mentally, watching the girl dance close to him, due to the volume of people on the dance floor. Ignoring the other people, he started to settle into the music, enjoying having helped Alice progress this far at the least.

---------------

"That was great!" Izumi yelled as the six teens walked out of the club finally.

Takuya grinned, sliding his new sunglasses into an inside pocket of the jacket. "Hate to admit it, but it was alot of fun. Even got a couple numbers while I was here."

Kouji rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the wild haired boy. "I swear, we're going to have to muzzle you or something."

"Maybe neutering? I heard it works wonders with puppies." Junpei added.

"Hey!" Takuya called out as he started chasing the pair, with Tomoki following and laughing.

Kouichi laughed softly as he walked with Izumi and Alice towards the curb, to wait for the cab Izumi had called to pick them up. While Izumi seemed preoccupied in calling out encouragement to the four, just making them worse then they started, Alice simply stood at the street's edge waiting silently. The blue haired boy could tell her nervousness of the crowds was finally gone, now that they were leaving.

"Kouichi?"

Turning to Izumi as she spoke, Kouichi saw three taxis coming down the road, making the teen wonder if someone else had called for one. "Yes, Izumi?"

Izumi did her best pouty eyes impression as she looked up at her friend. "Could you escort Alice home? She's out of the way for everyone else, and I don't want her going home alone..."

Kouichi's cheeks flushed a little, wishing she wouldn't make that face while asking. It's not like he would let her go alone anyway, so it just made it that much more obvious. "It's no problem. I'll make sure she gets there safe."

Izumi stood up on her toes for a second, brushing a kiss on Kouichi's cheek, making his blush darker then ever. "Always the gentleman. I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Good night, Alice. I hope you had fun." She said the last with a wave around Kouichi as she turned and yelled at the other boys, trying to get them to the cabs as they pulled up to the curb.

Kouichi watched the others get into two of the cabs, leaving the last one for himself and Alice. As he opened the door for the girl, he wondered if Izumi was trying to instigate things like the others had been, although once he was in the cab himself he pushed the thought aside for the time being.

After giving the driver the directions, Kouichi settled back against the seat, glad to finally have a cushioned seat. His body was already feeling a bit sore from all the dancing he had done. Despite the aches and pains though, he didn't seem to mind. He had gotten a little more conversation in with Alice, but they had spent the majority of the time on the dance floor.

"Thank you." Alice spoke up softly, still staring through the plastic of the divider and the front window.

Kouichi turned his head to the girl, a little surprised. "Thank you? For what?"

Alice took a moment before she turned her head towards him. "For inviting me along. It was a very pleasurable evening."

The former Legendary Warrior smiled and nodded. "No need to thank me, we were all glad to have you with us. Your welcome to join us again, if you like."

"I would like that." The gothic girl said simply, before turning back towards the road.

Nodding to himself, Kouichi leaned back against the seat, trying to let his body get some rest before he got home. Feeling something touch his shoulder, he looked over and saw Alice's head on his shoulder. Realizing the girl had worn herself out too much, he shifted to put his arm around her, not wanting her to get cold as the taxi grove them home.

------------------------------

Rocker sighs softly. "Ok, good. Done. Well, not quite..."

Flora giggles. "Couldn't end it how you wanted with this chapter, huh?"

Rocker - "No... But if I am lucky, I can wrap it up with only one, maybe two, more chapters."

ToyAgu wakes up. "Huh, cake?"

Rocker groans. "I swear, do you pay attention to anything I write if it isn't a lemon or something involving Diaries work?"

ToyAgu - "Cheese..." ToyAgu falls back down and goes to sleep again.

Rocker twitches and sighs.

Witchie giggles. "Can't expect to teach any digimon new tricks easy, now can you Rocker-kun? Anyway, Alice is finally starting to open up a little to the former Legendary Warriors. But when Kouichi finally starts to realize his urge to help her open up might be a little more, can he find out if she feels the same back? You'll have to wait until next time, in the next chapter of Faith in Darkness!"


End file.
